Craft brewers are cautiously optimistic after the province announced Monday that it planned to rip up the contract with the Beer Store.
The move could be a boon for local craft brewers, who are welcoming the announcement.
The province says the Beer Store is a bad deal for Ontario, prompting plans to legislate the end of it. In 2015, the contract saw some changes to how beer was sold, including making it available in grocery stores.
The store is majority owned by Molson, Labatt and Sleeman.
A representative for the Beer Store says the end of the contract could cost more than 7,000 jobs.
For its purposes, the craft industry seems pleased with the announcement. The government says craft beer now makes up 10 per cent of sales at the LCBO--the Craft Association says there are 276 craft brewers in the province that employ 2,200 fulltime and 9,000 indirect jobs.
That combined for an economic impact of $1.4 billion in 2018.
Local brewery Innocente says more places to sell means more business.
“They might be in places that you’re not normally selling to further afield and people that get exposed to craft beer brands,” explains President Steve Innocente. “It could become good for everyone around.”
Innocente employs 10 people and brewed around 190,000 litres of beer in 2018, roughly 63,000 bottles.
There are reports that an outright cancellation of the contract could trigger a billion-dollar lawsuit.
